PHOTO | ANTHONY OMUYA Family lawyer Judy Thongori.
NATION MEDIA GROUP
A lawyer who helped draft the Marriage
Bill has asked MPs to introduce amendments that would make divorce
easier and less of a burden to couples who feel they no longer wish to
remain in a marriage.
Ms Judy Thongori, a renowned
family lawyer, says that a couple should be able to cite “irreconcilable
differences” as the reason they are seeking a divorce.
“We
need to make divorce easier. Couples should just state that they were
having irreconcilable differences rather than saying all those bad
things we normally hear and having to prove them,” she said on Tuesday
at a forum for journalists organised by Africa UNiTE- Kenya Chapter and
Africa Woman and Child Feature Service at the Inter-Continental Hotel,
Nairobi.
Currently, the Bill provides that couples can
only divorce in case of adultery, mental or physical cruelty and
desertion for at least three years.
Ms Thongori said
the law also ought to provide for pre and post-nuptial agreements and
for the recognition of marriage by cohabitation.
The
advocate said that contrary to the conception that a man seeking to
marry other wives is required to seek the consent of his first wife or
wives, it is not the case.
WIFE SHOULD BE INFORMED
The proposed law only required men to inform the wife of his intentions.
“The
wife should be informed and she can agree or disagree but the man can
still go ahead to marry without her consent,” said Ms Thongori.
This, however, applies to unions under the customary law or Islamic law that allow polygamy.
The
anticipated law gives couples an opportunity to choose the rite they
want to consummate their unions. Christian, Islam, Hindu, civil and
customary are the five marriages provided in the expected law.
The
Bill is lined up for the Second Reading when the House returns from a
one-and-half-month recess on September 17. Any changes will be
introduced when the Bill moves to the Committee stage.
The
proposed law will consolidate seven Acts that currently provide for
marriage and divorce. The oldest of these is the Marriage Act, which was
enacted in 1902.
Source: The Daily Nation
Source: The Daily Nation
